Happy B-Day To Me @ Spacca Napoli

Happily living on the trailing edge of the culiinary scene, my wife and I finally made it to Spacca Napoli last night. The occasion was the eve of my being really, really old.

From the moment we walked in, I was struck by the pleasant, relaxed vibe of the place. As busy as they were, everyone from the chefs to the guy sweeping the floor was smiling. Great management is a beautiful thing to see. Despite the standing-room crowd waiting for tables, we were warmly welcomed and found a seat on the bench across from the host desk. Within a moment or two, the owner appeared, offering around little appetizer bites (cheese, tartufo crostini) to those waiting. Very, very smart.

When we were seated, we ordered a couple of glasses of wine and two pizzas. My lovely chose the Margherita, and I ordered the white pie with sausage and rapini. In just minutes, they appeared, blazing hot. Both were very, very good. Still, we weren't totally knocked out. Our current gold standard pizza, besides the dozens we consumed in Italy, is the Neapolitan style pie at Il Ritrovo in Sheboygan. As good as Spacca Napoli is, I have to say the pizza just doesn't have the soulfulness of Il Ritrovo. I know these things are purely subjective, and I wish I could be more specific. Maybe it's the sauce. Maybe it's because I enjoy a little more crunch in the crust. Dunno. Then again, Spacca's not a three-hour drive from home. Big plus there.

So, overall, we really enjoyed Spacca Napoli, and will definitely be back soon. And though it may not be my new super fave, it's a wonderful place, one which we're lucky to have nearby.

Spacca Napoli
1769 W Sunnyside Ave
Chicago, IL 60640
(773) 878-2420

Il Ritrovo
515 S. Eighth St.
Sheboygan
(920) 803-7516

Hey Paul,

Happy B Day!

I believe SN is currently in a downhill alert phase. Recent reports -- yours included -- seem to suggest it ain't what it used to be. Reasons for this are tough to pinpoint, but could be related to changes in staffing.

Hammond

Sez who?

I've been there about once a month since it opened and while the product is different at different times, as you expect to some degree with a bread product in different climatic conditions, it remains mighty fine (and probably less variable than, say, Frasca's or Sapore di Napoli's).

Yes, my husband and I were there on Sunday and it was delicious. He tried the special, which was something with shrimp in it that I can't remember, and was very impressed. We were also convinced to try a latte and the hazelnut gelato, and I must highly recommend the hazelnut gelato!

I agree with Mike G. We've been going at least twice a month (lately more like once a week) since it opened and have noticed no drop in quality or taste.

Caveat: we do tend to go during non-peak days/times.

Also, I didn't read Paul SL's post as supporting a downhill alert.

"From the moment we walked in, I was struck by the pleasant, relaxed vibe of the place."

"Both were very, very good. Still, we weren't totally knocked out. "

"As good as Spacca Napoli is, I have to say the pizza just doesn't have the soulfulness of Il Ritrovo. "

"So, overall, we really enjoyed Spacca Napoli, and will definitely be back soon. And though it may not be my new super fave, it's a wonderful place, one which we're lucky to have nearby."

That sounds like a pretty good report to me. Likes Spacca Napoli a lot, likes Il Ritrovo more.

Hammond,

I was at Spacca Napoli Wednesday lunch and have to respectfully disagree about a downhill anything for Spacca Napoli. My Bianca con Bufala was spot-on, but my lunch companion's Rodiana, a daily special of pecorino, garlic, oregano and cherry tomato , kicked serious Neapolitan pizza ass.

If forced to get picky my only (small) criticism would be the ball of mozzarella di Bufala accompanying the prosciutto on our appetizer was served slightly too cold. Not exactly cause for a downhill alert.

Enjoy,
Gary

David-

Not that you need anyone else disagreeing with you, but my visit to Spacca Napoli two weeks or so ago showed no signs of "downhilledness."

aschie30 wrote:David-
Not that you need anyone else disagreeing with you

Not like I'm not used to it.

Happy birthday, Paul!

Fwiw, I've made 2 recent trips to SN and while I enjoyed myself (and the food) very much both times, the lunch was superior to the dinner, IMO. The pizzas and their crusts were nearly perfect at the lunch. At the dinner, they were still delicious but the pies were a bit softer than I care for at their centers. I attribute this, perhaps ignorantly, to the possibility that it's easier to maintain oven temperature and produce consistent pies when the crowd is lighter. Could this be a staffing issue? Of course it could.

But, I haven't noticed any drop-off in ingredient quality, which remains top-notch, uniqueness of offerings (house-cured cuddlefish appetizer, guanciale and potato pizza), or service, which has always been stellar, in my experience.

Of course, as always, your mileage may vary.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:The pizzas and their crusts were nearly perfect at the lunch. At the dinner, they were still delicious but the pies were a bit softer than I care for at their centers. I attribute this, perhaps ignorantly, to the possibility that it's easier to maintain oven temperature and produce consistent pies when the crowd is lighter. Could this be a staffing issue? Of course it could.

Ask Jonathan. It could have to do with the fermenting/proofing schedule of the dough. For example, he might prepare all of the dough the previous day in a single batch which ferments at room temp and then is placed in the cooler. The dough for dinner will have spent much more time in the refrigerator which can explain the softer pies. Dough management for this kind of pie is very important - small things can produce large effects.

Bill/SFNM

ronnie_suburban wrote:At the dinner, they were still delicious but the pies were a bit softer than I care for at their centers.

That was the cause of my concern. We know that Neapolitan 'za tends to be inconsistently crisped across the bottom of the crust, but the report I got from a good buddy was that the one he had recently was soupy in the center to the point of inedibility. Still, it's been months since I've been there, so I'm must defer.

i was there in November and our pizzas were inedibly soggy. Ther were so droopy we were rolling the slices up to eat them. That was the only time I've gone, so it could have been an off night, but we were very disappointed.

David Hammond wrote:We know that Neapolitan 'za tends to be inconsistently crisped across the bottom of the crust, but the report I got from a good buddy was that the one he had recently was soupy in the center to the point of inedibility.

Hammond,

It also depends on the pizza. My favorite Bianca con Bufala tends weep a bit of milky liquid from the fresh buffalo mozzarella, whereas Rodiana, which uses pecorino, is a drier pie.

Enjoy,
Gary 'it's all good' Wiv

Did SN recently lose their original pizzaiola?

Went last night for my third visit to SN, this time bringing along my in-laws, who are pizza lovers (we've all traveled together in Italy multiple times, though they, unlike us, won't eat pizza every day given the opportunity -- last time, with only one night in Naples, my wife and I hit Trianon and Da Michele back-to-back, two full pizzas each).

Now, let me start off by saying I love(d) SN. The pizzas aren't perfect, but they are certainly top 5 on this side of the Atlantic (Grimaldi's being the only unambiguously better pie). Last night, we showed up a little after 9pm and added our name to the list, being told there was a roughly 20 minute wait. The owner was outside once about 15 minutes in to update our wait time: "a few more minutes" -- 10 minutes later, we moved inside, after two parties that had arrived after us had been seated. Checked again, were told "just one minute for your table to be set" and before we were seated (a total of 40-45 minutes after arriving), the only other 3-4 parties (all had arrived after us) were seated. We decided to leave, but the owner stopped us at the door and insisted we come back in, that he would "take care of us." He sat us down with complimentary prosecco (which he had served a bit earlier to a different party that was just waiting in line). Unfortunately, two of the four in our party don't drink. He then said he'd take care of us personally. Two minutes later he returned with a waiter who he said would take care of us instead. We ordered our pizzas and a bottle of pellegrino. The pizzas came quick but the waiter (who apologized for the seating delay, saying "I'm sorry, I'm not sure for what") forgot our one drink order until later. The full bill arrived promptly at the end, kind of surprising as the owner's "i'll take care of you" didn't manifest itself in service or a discount.

We ended up leaving more frustrated then had we just left and not been ushered back in. It's unfortunate that my wife and I are so addicted to pizza, I feel like I am almost certain to return, as I can't live without good pizza, and my trips out east are only every couple of months.

I now harbor some regret over the roughly dozen people I've strongly recommended try SN. My recommendations in the future will certainly be more tempered.

On the food side, the pizzas were still very good, but there was a bit of the sogginess some described above, though my hope is it was within normal variation.

As an interesting comparison, we hit Smoque for lunch a few hours earlier; the owner came by unprompted and sat down with us when he heard my in-laws were in from Kansas City and we compared notes on KC BBQ spots for 10 minutes and he described his philosophy on sauce, menu variety, etc. Had the owner at SN shown any interest beyond getting one more turn at one more table, we probably wouldn't have left with such a bitter taste.